Adjustable axle guide for rail vehicles



March 3, 1959 w. E. WOLF ETAL 2,875,705

ADJUSTABLE AXLE GUIDE FOR RAIL VEHICLES Filed May 27, 1955 3 Sheets-Sheet l wk? r., rvi? QF l K g" El u ,VT l I l I l l l March 3, A1959 Filed May 27, 1955 F/G. 7a

W. E. WOLF ET AL ADJUSTABLE AXLE GUIDE FOR RAIL VEHICLES 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 March 3, 1959 w. E. WOLF ET AL 2,875,705l

ADJUSTABLE AXLE GUIDE FOR RAIL. VEHICLES Filed May 27, 1955 5 sheets-sheet s L'L ,I /NrE/vrops.-

ff/5:50@ ff ..754 /fa s (//mzarer- United States Patent 7' ADJUSTABLE AXLE GUIDE EORRAIL VEHICLESA Walter E. Wolf, Koln-Deutz, and Julius Ulsamer, Junkersdorf, near Koln, Germany, assignors to Westwaggon, Vereinigte Westdeutsche Waggonfabriken Aktiengesellschaft, Koln-Deutz, j Germany Application May 27, 1955, Serial No. 511,741

7 FClaims. (CL 10S- 224) Thepresent invention relates to adjustable axle guides for rail vehicles, especiallyfor high speed rail vehicles. Moreparticularly, the invention relates to suchV adjustable axle guides which are built up by ilat lying Spring leaves arranged-in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle and having one end connected to the axle-tree box while the other end is connected to the truck frame. tudinal forces are taken up by a connection between the axle guide and the respective connecting member (trunk frame or axle box) by means of serrated surfaces screwed together, whiley a coupling member is interposed between said guide and said connecting member.

When the connecting member of the axle guide, for instance the box connecting said guidewith the truck frame, does not yield, in view of inaccuracies in the construction due to tolerancesand other differences, itis hardly possible torbring the requirement of a precise tit of the serrated surfacespertaining to each other into agreement with the desired precise position of the wheel'set.` Atbest, even with thermost careful fitting work, tensions orr stresses remain the moments or torques of which act upon the roller bearings of the axle box ina horizontal plane and damage said roller bearings.

Additional stresses occur at the connecting surfaces with the connecting parts. To the above have to be added the known unfavorable influences of a possible frictional oxidation at those surfaces which are screwed against each other under high pressure, particularly at the serrated surfaces which inuences due to an increased notching effect result in a reduction in strength andmay bring abouta loosening of the connections.

It is, therefore, an object of the present inventionto provide an adjustable axle guide fo-r rail vehicles which Willovercome the above-mentioned drawbacks It is lanother object of this invention to provide an axley guide which will have anincreased life of usefulness over heretofore similar axle guides.

It is still another object of this inventionfto provide an adjustable axle guide which will be free from frictional oxidation,l especiallyatthe serrated surfaces inherent to such axle guides.

These and other objects andgadvantages4 of the invention will'appear more clearly froml the following specificationin connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. l illustrates a portion of arail vehicle equipped with an `axle guideaccording t0. this invention.,

Fig. la illustrates on a larger scale` than thatsof Fig. 1 a side view partly Ain. section of the axle. guide shown in Fig;` 1.

' Fig. 2,;represents a` section taken along the line IIe-II c, "iw1-`ig. `lw.V i

Fig. 3 shows an arrangement somewhat modified over that of Fig. 2.

` f General arremete.men-tf` The drawbacks `outlinedabcvc in connection withhere tofore known axle guides have been overcome according The longi-l Patented Mar. 3, 1959 connecting member is employed which doesy not* yield with regard to the guide, the coupling member isiturnable about a vertical axis to a small extentwithregard'to one of the parts to' be connected thereby.

Expediently, a vertical pivot arrangedr in the centralportion ofthe coupling member engages a bore ofthe axle guide or of the bearing box, whereas screwsrarranged therearound extend with a small play through the parts to be interconnected and press the same againstleach other. The connection of transversely serrated surfaces is expediently effected by means ofA expansion screws-in order, also during the operation, to maintainy the press t of the parts to be connected with each otherwhen'therough elevations of the surfaces pressed against each other have worn off. Byexpansion screws are meant such screws which have their stern more than ordinarily reduced in diameter with regard to thethread thereof s0 that they can be pre-loaded or pre-turned to a considerably greater extent than ordinary screws. Thus, in'thepresent instance, even when the serrated surfaces have wornnoff. to a certain extent, a tight connection is still secured'.

Between the pressure surfaces of the coupling member and the guide there may be provided a disc of natural or synthetic material having a high coeitcientfof `frictionas for instance brake shoe lining or clutch facing.A

In order further to increase the life ofthe axleguide and in order to prevent frictional oxidation, especially along the serrated surfaces, the points of support of said parts may becoated with afnoneoxidizingrnetallic mate`- rial such as copper.

Structural arrangement Referring now to the drawings andFig. l` thereof@` in particular, the rail vehicle shown therein is equipped: witlr a truck and adjustable axle guide according to theinvention. The car body `14 rests upon thestruck frame 15;` This truck frame 15 is by means of spiral springs 1-6fyieldably supported with regard to the axle boxfl. Thetfaxlc: box 1 is guided by two leaf spring links 3 andrlt)` (seein particular Figs. la and 2). The leaf spring'linkaisf xedlyV connected by means of screws 6to the' truckpop tion 2 through the intervention of a disc -5 or friction material e. g. of the type used for brake shoeY liningf` andaclutch facing and through the intervention of a transf. versely serratedY coupling member 4. The: couplingimern` ber 4 by means ofa stud section das engages acorresponding bore 3a in link 3 and. is retable vwith regard `to the. ad`- jacentV end of the axle guide or-link 3.` The brake shoes.-

are designated with thereference numeral 17 (Fig.v l);

The other end of the guide` spring or springlink 3-Yisrby5 of connected to the horizontally bent-off portion-ofthe3v angle 12. The coupling member 11`is likewise secured? against displacementon the adjacent endof the spring link 10. The angle 12 is connected to theadjacentend-of theY truck'frame 15 so to be yieldable` in. longitlrdiiralf` directionthereoffv while beingtorsion'.resistant about its@I vertical'axis.` In thisinstance, the-coupling membenlll' need'fnot be turnabler as is `the caselrwithrthewcouplingi member 4 at the other axle box side. This is due to the fact that no material moments will be conveyed in the horizontal plane upon the axle box 1.

As will furthermore be seen from Fig. 2, the two inner ends of the spring links 3 and 10 and the outer end of spring link are provided with a transverse rib 13 for engagement with corresponding grooves in the respective adjacent coupling members 7, 7 and 11. In this way, said coupling members and spring links pertaining thereto are positively and properly aligned with regard to each other. In order to prevent frictional oxidation at the transversely serrated connecting surfaces, the guide springs or spring links 3 and 10 as well as the coupling members 4, 7, 7 and 11 may be provided with a copper coating.

With reference to the modilication shown in Fig. 3, those parts thereof which correspond to parts in Figs. la and 2 have been designated with the same reference numerals as in Figs. 1, la and 2 but with the additional character b. Also in the modification shown in Fig. 3, the spring4 link 3b has one end thereof connected to the truck portion 2a and the other end to the axle box 1b. In contrast to Fig. la, however, the coupling member 7 of Fig, lai is replaced by a coupling member 4b with a stud section 4ab which latter pivotally engages a corresponding bore in arm 18 of the axle box 1b. A friction disc 5b is interposed between arm 18 and the adjacent marginal portion ofthe coupling member 4b. Bolts 6b connect the link 3b to the arm 18 of the axle box 1b. The connection of the outer end of link 3b to the truck portion 2b corresponds to the connection of the inner end of link 3 in Fig. la with the adjacent arm of the axle box 1.

It is, of course, to be understood that the present invention is, by no means, limited to the particular construction shown in the drawing but also comprises any modications Within the scope of the appended claims.

What we claim is:

. 1. An adjustable axle guide for a rail vehicle provided with a truck frame and with an axle box, which comprises in combination: a spring leaf having its ends arranged for connection with said axle box and said truck frame respectively, and serrated coupling elements respectively interposed between the ends of said spring leaf and the adjacent truck frame and axle box respectively for connecting the ends of said spring leaf with said truck frame and said axle box respectively, one of said coupling elements being to a small extent shiftable about a vertical axis relative to said spring leaf and said truck frame and axle box, said truck frame and said axle box being substantially non-yieldable with regard to said spring leaf.

2. An adjustable axle guide for a rail vehicle provided with a truck including a truck frame and an axle box, which comprises in combination: a dat spring leaf having its ends arranged for connection with said axle box and said truck frame respectively, a plurality of serrated coupling means respectively interposed between the ends of said spring leaf and the adjacent truck frame and axle box respectively for connecting the ends of said spring leaf with said truck frame and said axle box respectively, and pi-vot means associated with one of said coupling means and establishing pivotal connection between said last mentioned coupling means and the adjacent end of Said spring leaf and the adjacent portion of said truck.

3. An adjustable axle guide for a rail vehicle provided with a truck including a truck frame and an axle box, which comprises in combination: a spring leaf having its ends arranged for connection with said axle box and said truck frame respectively, serrated coupling means respectively interposed between one end of said spring leaf and the adjacent truck frame and between the other end of said spring leaf and said axle box for connecting the ends of said spring leaf with said truck frame and said axle box respectively, one end of said spring leaf being provided with a bore, and the adjacent coupling 4. An adjustable axle guide for a rail vehicle provided I with a truck including a truck frame and an axle box, which comprises in combination: a fiat spring leaf having its ends arranged for connection with said axle box and said truck frame respectively, serrated coupling means respectively interposed between one end of said spring leaf and the adjacent truck frame and between the other end of said spring leaf and the axle box respectively for connecting the ends of said spring leaf with said truck frame and said axle bo-x respectively, said axle box being provided with a substantially vertical bore, and the coupling means adjacent said axle box being provided with a stud pivotally extending into said bore to thereby establish pivotal connection between said axle box and said adjacent coupling means, the said one end of said spring leaf and the coupling means adjacent thereto being provided with passage means, and bolt means having a diameter less than that of said passage means and extending therethrough with play, said bolt means pressing the adjacent portions of said spring leaf, coupling means and truck frame together while allowing a limited relative adjustment thereof with regard to each other.

5. An adjustable axle guide for a rail vehicle provided with a truck including a truck frame and an axle box, which comprises in combination: a spring leaf having its ends arranged for connection with said axle box and said truck frame respectively, serrated coupling means respectively interposed between the ends of said spring leaf and the adjacent truck frame and axle box, friction disc means interposed between the coupling means adjacent said truck frame and the adjacent end of said spring leaf, and bolt means connecting said last mentioned spring leaf with said coupling means and said truck frame while allowing a limited relative adjustment therebetween.

6. An adjustable guide for a rail vehicle provided with a truck frame and with-an axle box, which comprises in combination: a spring leaf having its ends arranged for connection with said axle box and said truck frame respectively, serrated coupling means respectively interposed between one end of said spring leaf and the adjacent truck frame and between the other end of said spring leaf a-nd said axle box, one of said coupling means being to a small extent shiftable about a vertical axis relative to said spring leaf and said truck frame and axle box, and connecting means connecting the ends of said spring leaf with said truck frame and axle box respectively while allowing said li-mited shiftability of said one coupling means about said vertical axis, each of said coupling means and at least the end portions of said spring leaf clamped together by said connecting means being provided with a non-oxidizing metallic protective cover.

7. An adjustable axle guide according to claim 6, in which said protective cover consists of copper.

References Cited in the tile of this patent i UNITED STATES PATENTS 4Netherlands Apr. 15, 1948 

